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| Tyres are specially created for the GT |
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But I was wrong. The Sport GT gets a longer name, but it also gets a new soul. The transformation isn't as dramatic as that which makes a 4200 GT (flawed) into a GranSport (delicious), but then the QP was pretty fine to begin with - give or take the odd, mainly transmission-related, enigma. Here, though, we have, more than ever before in the company's turbulent history, the apogee of what a Maserati saloon should be. Think of it as a BMW M5 with Pavarotti on the stereo and a palazzo to keep it in.
The whole, then, is greater than the sum of the new parts. First, though, let's list these parts. The wheels carry 245/35 tyres at the front, 285/30 at the rear: it's a wonder there's room for any air at all behind those shallow sidewalls. These Pirelli P Zero Rosso Corsas have a compound and construction specially created for the QP Sport GT, in the same way as the GranSport is transformed by its bespoke tyres. The sizes are different for the QP, though: finding exactly correct replacements in a few years' time for both cars may be quite a challenge.
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| Transmission is a 6-speed clutchless manual |
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The Skyhook adaptive damping has revised software to control the suspension better 'when used in more press-on situations', as Maserati's description puts it. The brakes get cross-drilled discs, plus braided hoses for a firmer pedal action, and the transmission can shift its gears 35% quicker when set to Sport mode.
This transmission is still the six-speed, sequential-shift clutchless manual beloved of Maserati and its now more-distant (since Maserati was realigned with Alfa Romeo within the Fiat empire) Ferrari cousin. It's called Cambiocorsa ('race change') in the 4200 GT cars, because it starts off in manual mode and you have to opt for the automatic setting if you want it: in the QP, even this hardcore version, it's called DuoSelect and defaults to automatic. Pressing a button renders it manual.
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